Oz driver straps in beer, instead of toddler

Brisbane, May 13 : A Northern Territory driver was slapped with a fine of 750 dollars for putting a seatbelt around a carton of beer instead of a five-year-old kid in his car.

Police busted the man over on the Ross Highway, south of Alice Springs, about 3.30pm on Friday, when they noticed the vehicle was unregistered and uninsured.

When they stopped the car, the cops found four adults occupying the car with two in the front and two in the rear seats.

However, what left the police in shock was when they saw a carton of beer buckled safely in the rear centre seat between two adults, while a five-year-old boy crouched on the floor.

"The concern is about people's priorities," Brisbane Times quoted a Northern Territory police spokesperson, as saying.

"You get a lot of people riding around without seat belts in remote communities here but it is very unusual to see someone go to the trouble of strapping in a carton of beer instead of a small child. That is the shocking thing," the spokesperson added.